The Passions of Anna: A Period Opera Takes on a Love Triangle

MIAMI, April 29 — Many of the themes in Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina,” recently catapulted into renewed fame by Oprah’s Book Club, remain relevant. Society still judges women by harsher standards than men in love and family matters, although even Tolstoy, a social conservative at a time when all but the penurious relied on nannies, would probably be surprised by contemporary discussions about whether child care damages children.

The Florida Grand Opera’s production of David Carlson’s “Anna Karenina,” which had its premiere on Saturday in Miami in the shiny new Carnival Center’s Ziff Ballet Opera House, approached the work with a period staging and a mostly 19th-century sound.

The librettist was Colin Graham, who died this month; he was the longtime artistic director of Opera Theater of St. Louis, which co-produced “Anna Karenina” along with Michigan Opera Theater. Mr. Graham had also worked on a libretto for Britten’s “Anna Karenina,” which never came to fruition.

The many threads of Tolstoy’s novel include love stories and philosophical musings on religion, politics and the peasantry. Mr. Graham wisely chose to focus on the love triangle among Anna, her husband and Vronsky and the love story between Kitty and Levin. With a few exceptions, Mr. Graham is faithful to Tolstoy’s book. (Anna has a daughter by Vronsky in the book, for example, but she miscarries in the opera.)

The production, effectively directed by Mark Streshinsky, featured attractive, minimalist sets by Neil Patel and alluring lighting by Mark McCullough. Decorative touches like chandeliers descending for the ball conveyed changes of scene with subtle sophistication. The writing was on the wall, literally, for Anna. Turntables kept the pace lively and allowed the parallel stories to unfold at times simultaneously.

This cinematic visual effect was mirrored in the well-crafted lyrical score, ably conducted by the Florida Grand Opera’s music director, Stewart Robertson. Mr. Carlson wrote for a 19th-century Russian orchestra with one exception: a vibraphone used to signal Anna’s descent into madness.

This $2 million production, which lasts about two and a half hours, is a period piece in every way. Tolstoy’s society ladies would have swooned with joy over Robert Perdziola’s beautiful, extravagant period gowns. Just as Mr. Graham remained faithful to Tolstoy’s vision, Mr. Carlson (who visited Russia for inspiration) remained faithful to a 19th-century Russian sound world, even using a variant of the Czar’s Hymn (which Tchaikovsky used in his “1812” Overture and the “Marche Slav”) as a fate motif. His romantic and luxuriantly textured music, with soaring vocal writing, retains interest with an underlying tension and hint of astringency.

The score vividly portrays each character: jovial music accompanies Stiva, Anna’s brother, and more dour sounds Karenin. Anna’s music begins good-naturedly, then mirrors her spiraling despair. At times the music seemed too predictable.

In one sense, Tolstoy’s novel is ideal opera material, complete with a tragic heroine and mad scenes. But conveying even a glimpse of his richly drawn and constantly evolving characters is a challenge, and the production struggled to do so for most of the first act. The affair between Anna and Vronsky seemed barely credible before she was suddenly announcing her pregnancy. The rotating turntables contributed to a sense that character development was being fast-forwarded.

The pace quickened at the end of the first act, and the second act more consistently hit the mark, musically and dramatically. Anna’s death scene was riveting as she stumbled in an opium-induced haze punctuated by loud bells and grittier music.

Mr. Carlson said earlier in the day that he had been “negotiable with pitches.” But on opening night there was certainly no negotiating with pitch by the excellent cast members, who all sang the English libretto with clarity. The soprano Kelly Kaduce was a terrific Anna, conveying the title character’s passion and despair; Robert Gierlach was convincing as her lover, Vronsky.

Christian Van Horn’s booming bass-baritone brought chilly gravitas and credibility to Karenin. Sarah Coburn was a sweet-voiced, demure Kitty and Brandon Jovanovich an earnest and increasingly passionate Levin. Christine Abraham and William Joyner as Dolly and Stiva, respectively, were also strong. The rest of the fine cast included Josepha Gayer as an amusing Princess Betsy, Rosalind Elias as Agafia, Dorothy Byrne as Countess Lydia and Corey Crider as Prince Yashvin.

Overhead costs were higher than expected at the Florida Grand Opera’s inaugural season in the Carnival Center, forcing it to scale back next season and postpone a new opera by David DiChiera. Even with flaws, however, this “Anna,” which the glittering Miami audience seemed to appreciate, closes the current season on a high note.

Correction: May 2, 2007

A music review on Monday about the premiere of David Carlson’s opera, “Anna Karenina,” by the Florida Grand Opera in Miami, misidentified a work in which Tchaikovsky used the Czar’s Hymn, a variant of which Mr. Carlson uses as a fate motif. In addition to the “1812” Overture it was the “Marche Slav,” not the Fourth Symphony. (Tchaikovsky used a fate motif in that work.)

“Anna Karenina” will be performed Wednesday, Saturday, and May 8, 11 and 13 at the Carnival Center in Miami, (800) 741-1010 or fgo.org. In June it travels to the Opera Theater of St. Louis, opera-stl.org.

A version of this review appears in print on , on page E5 of the New York edition with the headline: The Passions of Anna: A Period Opera Takes On a Love Triangle. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe